Late-Night Hosts Tackle Roger Stone Arrest

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The bits followed 'Saturday Night Live's' treatment of Stone's arrest the previous weekend, in a cold open that saw Steve Martin playing the Republican operative.

Late-night hosts on Monday tackled the news that Donald Trump associate Roger Stone was arrested early Friday morning and charged with lying about his association with Russian-hacked emails damaging to Hillary Clinton's 2016 election bid.

Their bits followed Saturday Night Live's treatment of Stone's arrest the previous weekend, in a cold open that saw Steve Martin playing the Republican operative.

On The Daily Show, host Trevor Noah, after explaining the news, joked that Stone looked how Vice President Mike Pence would look after a drink. He explained that the big question in Mueller's investigation is whether or not Trump coordinated with WikiLeaks to release Clinton's hacked emails.

"In his indictment, Mueller says that Roger Stone was directed to contact WikiLeaks by someone in the Trump campaign. Now was that someone Donald Trump? We don’t know. But if it wasn't Trump you would expect his people to come out and say so, but instead they are avoiding the question like it’s a French poetry reading," Noah joked.

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert took things up a notch with a parody video of Cops. In the spoof, a cop details Stone's arrest. "We’re here to arrest Roger Stone. He’s easy to spot because he dresses like a Dick Tracy villain. He also has a tattoo of Richard Nixon on his back, and I believe, a Henry Kissinger tramp stamp," he says. "I’m actually pretty excited we’re arresting him because I picked him for my collusion fantasy league. I’ve got Stone, Jared and Gary Busey — he’s a wild card but it could pay off big."

Colbert also addressed Stone's arrest in his monologue.

"There's speculation that the FBI's true target was not Mr. Stone himself, but his electronic devices. Yes, they went after everything. His computers, his phones, the umbrella he uses to defeat Batman," he joked as a photo of Stone in a top hat appeared.

The host shared that Stone is responsible for the WikiLeaks releases that damaged Clinton's presidential campaign in 2016. "So they knew there were more emails hacked by the Russians before they were released," he said. "If only there was some visual metaphor to describe what this means." An animated smoking gun soon took over the screen.

Stone allegedly told New York radio host Randy Credico to "do a 'Frank Pentangeli' before the House Committee" when he was subpoenaed to testify before Congress. The reference is to The Godfather character that lied to Congress about his connections to the Mafia.

"Quick tip. If you're referencing The Godfather, you're probably not the good guy," said Colbert. "That's like going to a restaurant and saying, 'I'll take the Hannibal Lecter with a nice Chianti."

When Credico refused to lie, Colbert said that Stone threatened to take away his dog. The host then shared video evidence of the interaction, which was really a clip of the Wicked Witch of the West saying that she will get Dorothy and her dog in The Wizard of Oz. "Trump's right. It really is a witch hunt," said Colbert.

A clip from Stone's impromptu press conference followed, in which he thanked everyone for coming despite that fact that they were booing him.

"He really needs attention. He reminds me of the Patriot Nathan Hale who so famously said, 'I regret that I have but one life to lose for this sweet, sweet publicity. I'm famous, bee-yotch,"' joked Colbert.

The show then played a clip of Stone stating that the FBI agents that visited his home "were extraordinarily courteous." Colbert responded, "Yes, they terrorized his wife and dogs with extraordinary courtesy."

"As he left, Stone did a fond farewell by doing his best impression of Richard Nixon," said Colbert as he showed a clip of Stone with his hands in the air at the press conference. "Ah yes, impersonating Rich Nixon, the universal sign for 'I'm Innocent.' Then he shouted 'Helter Skelter' and his friend A.C. drove him away in a White Bronco."

Colbert added that Stone has a tattoo of Nixon on his back. "Not pictured: Where he has one of Trump," he said. "Let's put it this way. Tain't on his back."

Over on Late Night, host Seth Meyers joked, "Remember, Trump brags that he only hires the best people, calls the Russia investigation a hoax, calls CNN fake news and his government shutdown left FBI agents without pay. So it was especially ironic when one of Trump’s closest associates was arrested by unpaid FBI agents working for the special counsel in the Russia investigation and the whole thing was caught on tape by CNN."

He added, "The only way that could have been more humiliating for Trump is if Robert Mueller celebrated by eating a Happy Meal at McDonald's on a date with Stormy Daniels."

Continuing his train of thought of unpaid FBI agents, Meyers joked, "Imagine being such an asshole that FBI agents will come into work and arrest you for free."

On The Tonight Show, host Jimmy Fallon noted that Stone has a tattoo of Richard Nixon on his back. "If you think that's bad, check out the tattoo Trump just got," he said, showing a Photoshopped image of Trump with a Vladimir Putin back tattoo.

The Tonight Show also pulled video of Stone's post-arrest interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo; Fallon noted that "it really looked like Stone was blinking a lot" during the Q&A, and his team had added a "ding" sound to every blink to prove it. After playing the footage with sound, Fallon joked, "Wow, that's Morse code for 'Pardon me.'"

Jimmy Kimmel announced that "another witch has been hunted in collusia-palooza" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

The host shared a number of clips in which Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Stone's arrest "has nothing" to do with Trump. "OK, so the only thing we know for sure is that this has something to do with the president," concluded Kimmel.